You are here

Federal

Legalizing Marijuana is a very political, emotional and complex topic. States are implementing it as a “medication”, circumventing the FDA process that is in place to protect consumers and for social use are making legalization an even more contentious subject. You have been elected to provide the families in your state with legislation that promotes and establishes the healthy guidelines and regulations for everyone in our nation. Your decisions should be based on valid, accurate, research-based evidence. My goal is to provide referenced resources on the ‘Truth behind Legalizing Marijuana’ in three areas: 1) Medical Standpoint 2) Impact to our Communities and 3) Impact on our Highways.

1) Medical Standpoint

Link to Opioid Epidemic: There is no denying that our nation is suffering from an opioid crisis to include prescription narcotics, internationally manufactured fentanyl (and other counterfeit medication) and street heroin. It is not a coincidence that there is a parallel between legalizing marijuana and opioid overdoses. "We found support for the synergistic effect on an individual level; people who tend to use more marijuana also tend to use more opioids," said Scott Novak, PhD. "If this trend continues, in the next 3 or 4 years, we could see a very alarming rate because essentially, it's going to come to point where people are using both these drugs almost on a daily basis," said Dr Novak. This correlation should cause anyone who believes marijuana is harmless to rethink their belief. Certainly, all legislators should due prudent research to seek the truth about this drug and have Policy reflect this truth.

Regulating Marijuana: Regulating prescription medications has proven to be very difficult and the lack of strict guidelines and enforcing regulations has led to over prescribing, wide-spread misuse, addiction and overdose in epidemic proportions that have affected almost every family and community throughout our nation. Alcohol, another legal drug, is the cause of 88,000 deaths in the United States annually. How is it possible to regulate a plant that can be grown in backyards and does not meet any of these standards of care guidelines for medicine?

Implementing Regulations: With respect to implementing marijuana for medical use or any drug, I am sure we can all agree, the general goal is to provide guidelines for safety and to prevent abuse or misuse. Specifically, 1) To provide evidence-based best practice standards for doctors, 2) To provide pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics for pharmacists and 3) To provide patients with valid information substantiated with studies and research on best route of administration, dosage specifications, predictable drug interactions, follow-up treatment plans, disease specific guidelines and expected side-effects.

Many studies have been flawed: Cannabinoids for Medical Use-A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis “Four (5%) trials were judged at low risk of bias, 55 (70%) were judged at high risk of bias, and 20 (25%) at unclear risk of bias. The major potential source of bias in the trials was incomplete outcome data. More than 50% of trials reported substantial withdrawals and did not adequately account for this in the analysis. Selective outcome reporting was a potential risk of bias in 16% of trials.”

American Glaucoma Society- One of the commonly discussed alternatives for the treatment of glaucoma by lowering intraocular pressure (IOP) is the smoking of marijuana. It has been definitively demonstrated, and widely appreciated, that smoking marijuana lowers IOP in both normal individuals and in those with glaucoma, and therefore might be a treatment for glaucoma. Less often appreciated is marijuana’s short duration of action (only 3-4 hours), meaning that to lower the IOP around the clock it would have to be smoked every three hours.

American Epilepsy Society- (link to letters AES president wrote to legislators and governors) “The recent anecdotal reports of positive effects of the marijuana derivative cannabidiol for some individuals with treatment-resistant epilepsy give reason for hope. However, we must remember that these are only anecdotal reports, and robust scientific evidence for the use of marijuana is lacking. It means that we do not know if marijuana is a safe and effective treatment for epilepsy, which is why it should be studied using the well-founded research methods that all other effective treatments for epilepsy have undergone. Such safety concerns coupled with a lack of evidence of efficacy in controlled studies result in a risk/benefit ratio that does not support use of marijuana for treatment of seizures at this time.”

No requirements for alternative treatment options These include but are not limited to the following: access eating habits, environment, exercise and sleeping habits. Would physical therapy and/or mental health counseling be beneficial?

With the recent medical breakthroughs throughout this century does anyone really believe there isn’t a safer and evidenced based alternative we should be offering our loved ones? They deserve better.

RECOMMENDATION: Marijuana is addictive and should be treated as other addictive drugs whether legal or illegal. If illegal ENFORCE federal law. If legal then REQUIRE FDA approval.

2) Impact on our highways:

A.Increase in fatal car crashes for those states that have legalized marijuana for any reason.

Increase in high school dropout rates The large meta-analysis – a study of combined previous research – showed that people who are daily users of cannabis before the age of 17 are more than 60 per cent less likely to complete secondary school or to complete a degree compared with those who have never used the drug.

Increase in homeless population i.e. in Colorado-$18 million program to create affordable housing for the homeless" (Denver has reported dramatic increases in student homelessness as has other areas in CO.)

Increase black market & gangs “Legalization was supposed to get rid of the black market – it hasn’t done that – I would estimate that the black market has grown 20 fold since legalization,” said Gaasche.

F. Social Cost- For taxpayers, the growing edibles market means an array of social costs — including hospitalizations, traffic accidents, school dropouts and lost work productivity — that state and federal officials haven’t fully investigated, estimated and made public.

Colorado annual tax revenue from the sale of recreational and medical marijuana was $115,579,432 (CY2015) or about 0.5 percent of Colorado’s total statewide budget (FY2016).

• “Denver is losing visitors and valuable convention business as a result of these overall safety (or perception of safety) issues...” – VISIT DENVER Report

RECOMMENDATION: Enforce Federal Law- Legalizing marijuana does not serve the health of the common good of individuals or families and is not good Health Policy.

These are undesirable, unintended and avoidable outcomes can be changed protecting our children, families, communities, businesses and highways if federal and state laws reflect the valid data and research on marijuana use and legalization.

It is not coincidental that the opioid epidemic has been revived with the legalization of marijuana. We cannot afford to lose one more life to addiction or to innocent victims on our highways. Addiction whether it is alcohol, marijuana, opioids is preventable. . It is your choice whether to do due diligence or ignore the Truth. Please educate yourself and your communities marijuana is not a safe nor harmless drug. Prohibit further marijuana use for any reason.

Our family was thrust into the Rx Drug Epidemic in the 2007 when a family member developed a severe addition to Oxycontin having obtained the medication illegally for recreation use. I obtained a Master’s in Mental Health Counseling with the goal of educating families and communities on the dangers of abusing any drug. Prevention is the best education and the best policy for saving lives. Please also consider increasing Drug Prevention Funds.

My name is Bill McManus and I have been battling pot in Calaveras County for over three years. I am a ZERO TOLERANCE activist to rid our county of all commercial cultivation of pot. I know we have to deal with PROP 64 (California’s Recreational Pot Initiative which passed 11/16), but even that law allows for banning outdoor grows based on a county’s jurisdiction to regulate land use.

I have seen this criminal enterprise up close and personal. Hundreds, if not thousands of residents are considering leaving our county because of the abuse of the pot cartels. I myself have been assaulted twice and had both of my vehicles vandalized. One thing is crystal clear, if you allow any of it, you get all of it and according to the latest info from Central Valley HIDTA, Calaveras county is rivaling the Emerald Triangle for illegal pot production.

Crime Went Way Up!

In the last two years, crime has gone up 400%. The District Attorney is handling 18 marijuana-related murders in our county, a county with only 45,000 residents!

Our small county has somewhere between 1500 and 2000 illegal grows. We have had human trafficking problems, illegal timber harvests, illegal grading, illegal stream diversions, water theft, destroyed rural roads from water trucks hauling stolen water out to pot grows, one family in the Federal Witness Protection Program because the husband serviced porta potties at a pot grow………the list goes on and on.

If you want to see the ugly side of the pot cartels, give me a call. I will show you what is going on and introduce you to people who are afraid to leave their homes because of nearby pot grows. Identified cartels in this county include, Hmongs, Motorcycle gangs from the valley, Mexican mafia, Russian mafia, Jamaican Cartels, Asian cartels, and refugee cartels from the Emerald Triangle. BAN it, BAN it all. If even one hair’s breath of opening is given to them, you will LOSE the battle, your lifestyles, your security in your home, and all sense of community.

Grab a flak vest and come visit Calaveras County. By the way, county Code Compliance officials are not allowed to enter any pot grow without a sheriff escort……what about the citizens who remain behind after the inspections?

I had a beautiful two-acre parcel — with views to die for — in the mountains of Southern California. I was hoping to build a home and retire there. Then “medical” marijuana happened, and my neighbors have turned their land into a pot farm. It’s a two-bedroom mobile home, that claims to have five different residents, all with Medical Marijuana Cards.

The police claim there is nothing they can do.

These people grow their “medical” marijuana outside. The smell is so pungent it makes it impossible for me to enjoy what used to be fresh mountain air. I planted lilacs all along my fence line, to mitigate the odor but it didn’t help. The traffic coming and going from their property during the harvest is insane, stirring up dust on the dirt road. The crime rate has increased as well. Now that the neighborhood kids know where to go to get some free marijuana, they just hop the fence, and steal what they want to get high.

My right to the enjoyment of my property is being violated, and no one seems to care. I put my property up for sale, and because of disclosure laws, I was forced to reveal the existence of the pot farm next door.

I ended up selling, but taking a loss on the property and gave up my dreams of a quiet home in a rural residential area. I moved to a retirement community, with neighbors all around. So all my years of hard work and dreams of a peaceful retirement are gone.

The legalization of “medical” marijuana has stripped all rights away from the people who have chosen not to partake.” I urge you to vote against any measure to legalize marijuana, and ask you to endorse legislation that would strictly limit the growing of “medical” marijuana.

by DC

Stop Pot is a non-partisan grassroots campaign started by citizens concerned about the damaging health effects, both physical and mental, of marijuana. We are also concerned about the impact of marijuana on the environment.

A neighbor’s marijuana prompts this person to warn our readers. A number of our readers share their testimonies about the impact of marijuana on quality of life. This blog about a neighbor is our third testimony about the marijuana lifestyle and how it affects others. I live right next door to a marijuana grow and even though the county has a law banning the grow of marijuana for any reason, law enforcement won’t enforce it for several reasons. Money/lack of resources isn’t one of them. I cannot allow my grandchildren to come over anymore. I’ve reported the issue to the irrigation district, the sheriff and the Board of Supervisors.

It’s been almost two months and nothing has been done. The plants are at least two feet above the 10-foot fence they installed that we share. I am literally 30 feet away from the outside plants. Because there’s a loud electrical buzzing, there’s probably an indoor grow as well.

Law Enforcement’s Hands are Tied

Here’s what law enforcement wrote back to me about my neighbor’s marijuana:

“It’s not about money…We can’t get the Feds to prosecute because the Obama Administration has told the US Attorneys not to prosecute MJ cases. No local prosecution because of Prop 215 and our Attorney General who has added mud to water over prosecution. Yes, the Board of Supervisors has taken a position based upon land use, not criminality and that is handled administratively through the county. What you describe is not a land use issue. Bottom line, we’re quickly getting out of the eradication business and we’ll see what happens with Proposition 64 on November the 8th.”

Because no one is enforcing the law, marijuana grows are allowed to continue unchecked.

Pesticide Risks from a Neighbor’s Marijuana

Once people look deeper, they discover a great deal of problems with legalization of marijuana. (even before legalization) Know more = Vote No!

It exposes those living around them to toxic chemicals including pesticides linked to autism and other serious irreversible neurological damage. Common pesticides used on marijuana are Avid, Phosmat, Diazinon, Organophosphate –pesticides which were used to make Agent Orange during Vietnam.

Pesticide drift is a serious problem, even when pesticides are used responsibly. We all know the goal of marijuana growers is not the responsible use of pesticides. Pesticides can drift for miles in residential areas. I have watched my organic tomatoes die and my potted flowers wither. I can smell the chemicals from the grow and the fumes come through my air conditioner. I’m very concerned that my entire yard and my house could be contaminated with pesticides that cause nerve damage.

Think about what your neighbor can get away with if this is legal in the entire state. The only way to stop your neighbor’s marijuana is to Vote No on 64.

A reader shared with us two letters on Prop. 64, the Adult Legalization of Marijuana Act sent to the Los Angeles Times. She said, “It isn’t yet a legal substance, yet I realize that I have constantly smelled very strong marijuana fumes in my yard for about the last month.” Those who remember the smog Los Angeles suffered from in the past cannot believe that the state is willing to embrace a return to such a major environmental disaster again.

Patricia Jackson writes: “Here is what I submitted in reaction to a story ‘Tough New Climate Limits’ which ran on Friday, September 9, 2016:

I question whether these new tough climate laws will achieve their full potential if marijuana is legalized. I already find myself closing my car windows and running my air conditioning substantially more often than in prior years because of the overpowering smell of marijuana. People who smoke pot in their cars seem to almost always open their windows for some reason.

Both my front and back yard are constantly filled with the smell of marijuana both in the earliest morning when I walk out to pick out my copy of my just-delivered LA Times as well as into the evening when I go out into my backyard. On a recent 3-day weekend while painting high up on a ladder I had to wear a respirator mask at all times because the wind carried the at times chokingly-powerful smell of marijuana from someone near by who was on a morning-to-night marijuana bender.

Once people look deeper, they discover a great deal of problems with legalization of marijuana. Know more = Vote No!

One of your first stories on the legalization of marijuana featured a marijuana distributor standing in a state park. I thought the point of state and national parks was to create a nature experience. The legalization of marijuana will rob many people of the right to clean air and will disproportionately affect people living in apartments and people who cannot speak up for themselves for a variety of reasons. I’d like to know who is liable if I am overcome by fumes and sustain an injury. Unlike all the other places where marijuana has been legalized, Los Angeles has often record-low amounts of rain to clear the air, a host of dying mature trees and air that already contains a high amount of particulate matter.

It baffles me that the legalization of marijuana is even being considered in a way that gives a free hand to marijuana smokers about where they smoke. I’d also like to see a story about how often childrens’ sports teams in public parks (soccer, basketball, swimming, etc) experience marijuana fumes during their workouts. My experience was that every time I picked up my children from the park I smelled strong marijuana fumes.Please, please take the time to make clear that by legalizing marijuana we are abdicating our right to clean air.

The second letter is to Robin Abcarian, who is writing a series on marijuana legalization

I have been reading your series on the presumed legalization of marijuana and am baffled at the lack of discussion of the effect on clean air. There are no restrictions on where marijuana may be used, the restrictions are on where it is sold. I can tell you from overwhelming personal experience that the powerful effects of the wind in dispersing marijuana fumes from the most powerful brands of pot are not being considered at all. This means that pot may not be consumed physically next to school but in areas adjoining and the smell wafts over to the school. Or, what happened to me: I discovered while high up on a ladder to paint that marijuana odors travel at different rates on the wind. The fumes were far more powerful up high than they were at ground level.

The unrestricted ability to smoke some of the really potent, smelly marijuana means that the so-called selling point protections are meaningless because they fail to take into account how children and vulnerable adults could be impacted by powerful marijuana fumes. I am also interested in knowing what protections exist for people who are neighbors of heavy users and/or who live in apartments.

I currently smell marijuana when I step out into my yard around 6-7am and into the evening. I have completely lost the ability to know with any degree of certainty that I will be able to breathe in and get clean, un-marijuana-soiled air. I voted for legalization the last time, but I most certainly won’t this time because my experience has been that fumes from the types of brands of marijuana now available substantially reduce my quality of life in reducing my guaranteed access to un-marijuana-laced air.

I recently noticed just how polluted the air outside and in my home had become when I went to a dental office and was astounded at how refreshingly odor-free the air was. The dentist’s office was always a place previously where I was acutely aware of odors. Recent land-mark California clean air legislation could be completely undermined by the additional need for air conditioners, fans, and other technologies to block the smell of marijuana.If the marijuana industry is so profitable, they should be setting up and publicizing odor-free zones instead of sending people to side streets to smoke their pot (and yes, my street has filled that function for pot dispensaries). If you are dispensing it, people should be using the really smelly stuff somewhere where not everyone else is forced to participate.